Monday, June 24, 2024

06/24 Links Pt1: Oct. 7 survivors sue UNRWA; Horrific new October 7 abduction footage released by hostage families; Pro-Hamas mob attacks Jews outside LA shul

From Ian:

Oct. 7 survivors sue UNRWA
More than 100 victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court today, alleging that a scandal-plagued U.N. agency has led a long-standing money-laundering operation to the financial benefit of the terror group.

The suit, filed in the District Court for the Southern District of New York, names as defendants the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and seven commissioners-general, deputy commissioners-general and a director, accusing them of participating in a decade-plus scheme of fraud and corruption.

“There is no pain in the world that compares to burying your children and grandchildren who were murdered and suffocated in their own home,” said Gadi and Reuma Kadem in a statement. “All that is left is to fight to hold those responsible for strengthening Hamas to account. UNRWA strengthened Hamas and transferred funds and financed the murders, acting as a full partner in the growth of Hamas terrorists. UNRWA and its directors are fully complicit in the murder of my children and family. ”

UNRWA, the Palestinian-only aid and social services agency, has long been accused of fomenting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through its unique treatment and perpetuation of the Palestinian refugee situation, incitement to violence in its schools and its employees’ ties to terror organizations.

“The findings in this lawsuit demonstrate that UNRWA was aware of and actively participated in the diversion of funds earmarked to support the people of Gaza into channels that ensured those funds were used for terrorism and in violation of international law,” said Bijan Amini, one of the lead lawyers in the case. “UNRWA’s insistence that over a billion dollars in Gaza aid be distributed in U.S. cash that locals could not spend without going through Hamas moneychangers is one of the most damning pieces of new evidence presented in this case.”

The lawsuit accuses UNRWA of insisting that aid payments in Gaza be made in U.S. dollars rather than Israeli shekels, which is the local currency. The suit claims this practice is unique to Gaza, and did not apply to aid payments made to other Palestinians benefiting from UNRWA, including those in Judea and Samaria or Jordan. Nor, the suit says, does it apply to refugees in any other U.N. program, all of whom are handled outside the Palestinian sector by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Seth Mandel: American Institutions Have Chosen Breakdown and Disorder
Here’s another fun fact about LA and Thousand Oaks and the surrounding area: The LA media market is the second-largest in the country and the only one anywhere close to the size of New York’s media market—that is, it’s second only to the “media capital of the world.”

But if you saw the scenes that developed and continued throughout the day Sunday—weapon-wielding psychos in keffiyehs stalked Jewish neighborhoods chasing Jews in the area as well, not content with keeping their riot confined to the Jewish house of worship—you almost certainly saw them from citizen journalists and alternative media and eyewitnesses taking video. Not, that is, from the major media.

Again, the event was scheduled, and once things turned violent there was plenty of time to catch up. I assure you the West Coast press knows how to get to Pico Boulevard.

We have often compared the current outbreak of anti-Jewish riots to the Charlottesville hate rally in 2017, but that might not be strong enough. After all, the second Charlottesville march attracted almost nobody on the white supremacist side but thousands of counter-protesters. The thirty Unite the Right participants were surely outnumbered by media alone. These pro-Hamas demonstrations, many of which turn violent, are planned openly and publicly and now are a common feature of life in America.

Media coverage may have something to do with why Charlottesville was a one-and-done and the Hamas protests became a movement that shook down the Democratic Party’s leadership and won concessions from the president himself. But it is only a part of the story. The reason the media participation likely outnumbered skinheads at the second rally is because of the urgency of burying such a rally before it can grow arms and legs. That urgency applied equally to the Hamas protests, but it was not politically convenient to do the right thing in this case. The political and media establishment is capable of squashing these burgeoning hate movements but simply chose not to do so. That’s it—that’s the story.

The continuation of the left-wing Cossack-wannabe movement is a choice. It is a choice by the media to treat it with kid gloves. It is a choice by universities to kowtow to it. It is a choice by congressional anti-Semites to egg it on. And it is certainly a choice by the president of the United States to join such figures at political events and praise them to the heavens.

The leadership of America’s political, media, and academic institutions have chosen this path. No one’s participation in any of this is unintentional. And very few hands are clean.
Los Angeles, you have failed us Jews
The Jews of Los Angeles are no longer safe. The events of June 23rd brought to life the darkest nightmare many of us hoped we would never witness on American soil.

Los Angeles, once a city of dreams, now harbors domestic terrorists. The FBI defines domestic terrorism as “violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.” The chaos that erupted near a synagogue in Los Angeles on June 23rd is a terrifying testament to this definition.

Over 150 pro-Hamas protesters clashed with brave Jewish citizens near a synagogue, turning a peaceful neighborhood into a battleground. The protesters blocked entrances, engaged in physical altercations, and resorted to using bear spray and throwing objects. The scene was chaotic, with several people wounded and numerous law enforcement officers in riot gear trying to control the situation. Multiple arrests were made by the LAPD as tensions continued to escalate.

The seeds of this chaos were sown years ago with the rise of the defund the police movement in Los Angeles. In a city already struggling with crime, reducing police presence seemed like a recipe for disaster. Then came District Attorney George Gascon, whose policies allowed even the most heinous criminals to escape justice with what felt like free “get out of jail” cards. Without law and order, the world becomes a dangerous place, and the events of June 23rd are a direct consequence of this erosion of safety and justice.


Pro-Hamas mob attacks Jews outside LA shul
A Pro-Hamas mob on Sunday attacked pro-Israel Jews outside the Adas Torah synagogue in the Pico-Robertson area in western Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Police officer Tony Im said that the riot was initiated by pro-Palestinian protesters, who were met with opposition from demonstrators waving Israeli flags.

Videos shared on social media captured several instances of violence, with some pro-Palestinian rioters wielding protest sign handles and sticks as weapons. Police in riot gear were deployed to the scene, where they witnessed heated verbal exchanges and physical altercations.

During the incident, authorities made a single arrest, charging the individual with a misdemeanor for allegedly possessing a “spiked flag,” which is considered a prohibited item at protests, the Los Angeles Times reported. Police did not provide further information about the person arrested.

Footage recorded by onlookers seemed to show law enforcement officers detaining at least two pro-Palestinian rioters from an SUV.

In an interview with KCAL News, Rabbi Hertzel Illulian, the founder of the JEM Community Center in Beverly Hills, said, “Such protests don’t belong in front of a synagogue. I don’t believe Jewish or Christian people would stage similar demonstrations outside a mosque.”

The Jewish Federation Los Angeles said, “We are aware of an anti-Israel protest outside a local synagogue in the Pico-Robertson area. Our Community Security Initiative (CSI) is monitoring the situation and working with our local law enforcement partners to make sure our community is safe.”
LA Synagogue riots show how US doesn't take anti-Israel threats seriously
AS IS often the case, the authorities believe the activists are all talk. They believe that the rhetoric about destroying Israel and the “US Empire” is merely aspirational and that praise for terrorism and calls for intifada and revolution will remain just words within the confines of the encampments. Yet, like in many previous cases, these students have gone out into the world, and surprisingly, they believe the words that they chant.

On April 15, the protesters called to cause economic damage to the US, push the adoption of anti-Israel policies, and shut down major American arteries. They said they would not be voting for President Joe Biden in the November elections and have been willing to go to political war with politicians in their own camp. They claimed that they have embraced a diversity of tactics and that their goal will be achieved “by any means necessary,” as the popular chant states, and now, they are not just spray-painting buildings but burning them down.

When protesters claim affinity with Hamas and call to expel Zionists from their public spaces and cities, it is delusional to pretend that their violence will not escalate but remain confined within the walls of academia. The only lesson they’ve learned on campuses is that they can tear down walls and erect their own, and the consequences they face, such as those imposed by the Manhattan DA’s office, will be a slap on the wrist.

The escalation will continue until the anarchists are forced to stop, and not a moment before. Like with every other chant, whether they understand which river or sea they refer to, they wish for “death to Zionists.”

Jews learned a long time ago that when people say they are going to kill you, we must believe them. Unfortunately, the State of California and City of Los Angeles will likely not believe the threats until they see the dead bodies of Jews, and even then, they may refuse to make the connection between the mouth that called for violence and the hand that wielded the blade.
Los Angeles mayor failed to protect Jews amid ‘pogrom
Early Sunday morning, The Los Angeles Times dubbed Karen Bass “mayor of the city of the eternal future” in a profile in its “L.A. Influential” section that spoke of “Los Angeles’s first female and second black mayor” as “instantly hyper-alert, composed and commanding,” and a “pragmatic leader.”

Bass made “good on a campaign pledge to push a fractious patchwork of government actors toward something resembling coordination” and “commands respect with an outstretched hand instead of a clenched fist,” the Times reported.

Hours later, as clenched fists had targeted Jews in what many called a “pogrom” outside Adas Torah, an Orthodox synagogue in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, many were asking where Bass was and why police weren’t protecting Jews.

“Pro-Hamas and Hezbollah extremists violently attacked American Jews in Los Angeles and the politicians ordered the police to do nothing to defend them,” wrote Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Radical leftists and Islamists are ruining our country.”‘

Noah Pollak, a political consultant and writer, wrote that he was at the synagogue for an event on Sunday.

“The Los Angeles Police Department let the Hamas supporters take over the sidewalk in front of the shul and block its entrance. In fact, LAPD had formed a cordon around the front of the shul to keep Jews out and Hamas supporters in,” Pollak wrote.

He added that he and his children tried to enter via the front door but were “turned away not by Hamas supporters but by the LAPD. Anyone who wanted to attend had to use a secret back entrance.”

Pollak called the mayor and the LAPD “an absolute disgrace—it’s clear the police have been instructed to help the Democratic Party street animals do their thuggery. They were definitely not there to protect the right of Jews to enter their shul.”


The Commentary Magazine Podcast: They’re Coming After Us in L.A. and N.Y.
Hosted by Abe Greenwald, Christine Rosen, John Podhoretz & Matthew Continetti
A violent confrontation in West L.A. between Jews attempting to attend an event at a synagogue and Hamas supporters seemingly under the protection of the LAPD comes two days after a Jewish family is beset and beat up during a lower-school end-of-year celebration by another family shouting “Free Palestine”—and a day after Rep. Jamaal Bowman screams “you’re gonna know who the F we are” at the likelihood of his primary defeat on Tuesday. The threats aren’t just threats any longer, and American Jews are going to have to step up.


Range Rover-driving couple in mask and keffiyeh is arrested at gunpoint before cops make startling discovery in their backseat - as pro-Palestine mob runs wild through LA's Jewish neighborhood
Shocking video captured the moment Los Angeles police arrested a pro-Palestine couple and made an alarming discovering in their car after chaos erupted on the streets outside a synagogue.

Officers approached the car with their shields and guns raised only to find a keffiyeh-clad toddler sitting in a car seat.

The protests broke out in the predominantly Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood in front of the Adas Torah synagogue about 11am on Sunday.

While activists clashed at the gas station across the street from the synagogue on 9000 block of West Pico Boulevard, police arrested protesters driving a Ranger Rover.

Anti-Israel protesters gathered at the synagogue to prevent people from entering, reported KTLA.

Tensions spilled across the street where opposing protesters are heard repeatedly shouting 'f**k you' at the driver as they try to exit the gas station.

One woman stood out of the sunroof of the Range Rover waving a flag with 'Free Palestine' written on it.

Other protesters carrying American and Israeli flags tried to block the car from re-entering the parking lot, as the woman flipped off onlookers with both middle fingers.

A swarm of police officers dressed in riot gear arrived at the scene immediately shouting at the woman to get out of the car.

'Put your hands up. Get out of the car now. Ma'am, step out of the car,' officers said.

Weapons pointed at the vehicle, the woman stepped out of the Range Rover with her hands up.

The woman was immediately arrested along with another mask wearing protester in a yellow shirt who appeared to be driving the vehicle.

Police unbuckled the young child from the seat and take him away from the chaos.


JCPA: How Will the Israel-Hamas Urban War Influence Future Wars?
Statements from political leaders saying, “the correct number of civilian casualties is zero” would mean don't fight a war. This is the first war I've ever observed where not only did people believe there could be a daily civilian casualty count, but they took the word of a terrorist organization on what it would be and just started parroting a terrorist organization's numbers, which is the exact strategy that they want, in order to get the world, the UN, and U.S.to force Israel to be defeated.

Israel was condemned for the use of a 2,000-pound bomb in an urban area. The U.S. used over 15,000 in the first Gulf War, because it's a very standard military munition to hit an enemy in a bunker underground. When Israel is following every rule that's ever been thought of, and implementing ones that nobody's tried, it then gets told that, well, you've got to find a different way.

If you ban the use of bombs in urban combat, then you're going to see a lot more urban combat around the world, because a weaker force will say, look, all I have to do is get into the urban area and you can't touch me unless you come in here, and I turn it into a meat grinder where you lose tens of thousands of soldiers and I achieve my political goals. This double, triple standard that Israel is being held to will come back to bite the world in the future.

Israel waited over three weeks after October 7th to allow civilians to leave. And the world said, well, you can't do that. You can't evacuate a million people out of northern Gaza and into southern Gaza, into the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone. Israel did for over 850,000, which is 85% of the population. Israel handed out maps of safe areas to help evacuate the civilians. No military in the world has ever handed out maps. This also telegraphed the IDF's moves to Hamas. They also used advanced technologies, flying drones with speakers, using cell phone presence to know where the civilian presence was and then not going into those areas until they've been evacuated.

Everybody gave Israel advice on the way to bring the hostages home. Don't launch a ground invasion. Just use raids. Look, I know it'll take you a few years to get your hostages home, but just use raids and strategic strikes to take out Hamas leadership. That's anti-historical, it has never happened. No military has ever been successful in doing something like that. Hamas spent years developing an environment with the sole purpose to get civilians killed if Israel ever entered that environment.

What would America have done in the same situation? Gen. Mark Milley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, We would have used overwhelming military force to achieve our objectives of bringing our people home and securing our borders and protecting our nation as quickly as possible. Step one would be ensuring not a single rocket emanated out of enemy territory, headed towards our civilian areas like Los Angeles. Gen. Milley has been very vocal, saying we would have used overwhelming force, immediate force.

I'm a researcher, and what the case studies show is that failing to do this will result in a protracted war and increased suffering. All of these groups who want to limit the suffering of war have in this case increased the suffering, not because of Israel, but because of Hamas and international pressure. The way Israel was forced to execute this campaign has caused hostages to stay in captivity longer. This way has caused civilians to die. This way has caused civilian suffering.

Featuring John Spencer - Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point

Hosted by Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, Former Director of the Military Prosecution for Judea and Samaria.




‘Rampant’ looting, smuggling impeding aid delivery in Gaza, UNRWA says
The head of the United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees warns that a breakdown of civil order in Gaza has allowed widespread looting and smuggling, and blocked aid deliveries.

More than eight months of war have led to desperate humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory and repeated UN warnings of man-made famine there.

“Gaza has been decimated,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini tells the agency’s advisory body. “We have witnessed unprecedented failures of humanity in a territory marked by decades of violence,” he says, according to a written version of his closed-door address in Geneva.

“Palestinians and Israelis have experienced terrible losses and suffered immensely.”

Lazzarini warns that Gazans are in “a living hell, a nightmare from which they cannot wake.”


Gaza pier operations paused ‘for scheduled maintenance activities’
The $230 million temporary “trident” pier anchored to the coast of Gaza, which has been beset by problems and required several repairs, is again on hold, according to U.S. Central Command.

“Today, operations at the pier will pause for scheduled maintenance activities,” CENTCOM stated on Monday.

More than three million pounds of aid crossed the pier, which was re-anchored on June 19, over the weekend, and the 1.58 million pounds of aid delivered via the pier on Sunday was “the largest single-day delivery of aid to date,” CENTCOM stated.

It added that some 13.6 million pounds of aid have been delivered via the pier since May 17. “This humanitarian operation is made possible by our continued partnership with the United Nations and many international and regional partners,” it stated.
US hasn’t withheld weapons for Israel, but it’s done fast-tracking them — official
The Biden administration in recent months removed emergency procedures that were in place to fast-track weapons to Israel toward the beginning of the war, an American official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Sunday.

The revelation helps explain the claim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began making last week that the United States has been withholding weapons shipments to Israel. The US has denied the assertion, explaining that it has only withheld one shipment of heavy bombs it was concerned Israel would use in the densely populated southern Gaza city of Rafah.

All other shipments have continued at a normal pace, the White House explained.

The US official told The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity that a “normal pace” does not mean the fast-tracked rate that the US allowed during the early months of the war. In recent months, the US resumed its normal procedures for weapons transfers, including various Congressional authorizations.

The US official added that the move has coincided with a significant slowdown in the IDF’s operations in Gaza along with concern in Washington about a potential Israeli preemptive offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon that could lead to a regional war.

Channel 12 reported Sunday that during the first part of the war, some 240 weapons shipments were delivered to Israel. That number has dropped to roughly 120 shipments in recent months, the network said, without citing any sources or providing specific dates for the two timeframes.

A second official — an Israeli one — insisted that the return to the pre-war pace of US weapons shipments has not impacted the IDF’s operational capacity in Gaza or Lebanon.

Accordingly, Netanyahu’s decision to publicly attack the US has perplexed and frustrated the Biden administration, the US official said.


The IDF is on track to dismantle Hamas’s last brigade in Rafah
The Israel Defense Forces is pursuing a phased approach in its ongoing offensive against Hamas’s last stronghold in Rafah, Gaza. By dividing Rafah into sub-areas and deploying a single division—the 162nd—rather than two, the IDF and the Israeli Cabinet have taken a slower path, but one that has avoided another crisis with the United States.

According to Israeli military assessments, Hamas’s final functioning brigade will be dismantled in Rafah within weeks. Its defeat will mark a major milestone in the war that began on Oct. 7 with Hamas’s mass invasion of southern Israel. Meanwhile, Hamas has lost its ability to smuggle weapons and contraband from Egypt’s Sinai into Gaza via the cross-border tunnels. This will severely harm Hamas’s ability to rebuild its terror army—assuming that Israel does not relinquish its control of the Gaza-Egypt border.

According to an IDF source, of Hamas’s four Rafah battalions, only two are currently functional.

The IDF has eliminated over 500 terrorists in Rafah, and has also discovered extensive tunnel networks under the city, and under the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border. Two of the tunnels destroyed by Israeli forces exceeded a kilometer in length.

IDF ground and air units are dismantling significant portions of Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure in the area. Much of this work is slow and extremely difficult, as Hamas employs asymmetric warfare tactics and stays out of sight until it strikes.

The Israeli Air Force has played a crucial role in these operations. IAF fighter jets and aircraft have been striking numerous targets across Gaza, and providing close air support for the 162nd Division in Rafah. The Israeli Navy has also been striking enemy targets from the sea.

On June 20, the IDF reported that the Nahal infantry brigade, operating under the 162nd Division, had discovered large quantities of hidden weapons and tunnel shafts within and under civilian residences in Rafah.

The IDF has learned an enormous amount about complex, large-scale urban warfare in recent months, and is applying those lessons effectively in Rafah.


US argues continued Israeli military engagement in Gaza ‘makes Israel weaker’
The US comes out against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to “continue mowing the lawn” in Gaza after the war against Hamas ends.

“Continued military engagement in Gaza [is] just a recipe for continued conflict, continued instability, and continued insecurity for Israel,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says when asked about Netanyahu’s comments last night during a Channel 14 interview.

The prime minister claimed Israel would need to maintain overall security control over Gaza after the war and enter the Strip as needed in order to ensure that Hamas can’t revive its presence in Gaza.

“It is obviously extremely harmful to the people of Gaza who want to be able to rebuild their lives and rebuild their homes and want to be able to chart a different future,” Miller begins.

“But we also think continued military action in Gaza Just makes Israel weaker. It makes it harder to achieve a resolution in the north, it adds to instability in the West Bank, it makes it harder for Israel to normalize relations with its neighbors. That’s why we will continue to put forward what we believe is an alternative path that actually helps Israel’s security, not one that weakens it,” Miller says.


US Senator Lindsey Graham: Iran must be liable for any major Hezbollah attack on Israel - interview
Tehran must be put on notice that any major attack by Hezbollah against the Jewish state would be considered as if Iran had acted against Israel, US Senator Lindsey Graham told The Jerusalem Post.

If the US doesn’t stand with Israel in its battle against the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah, then “Iran will see this as yet another example of weakness and timidity, and they [it] will break out to a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Graham spoke after meeting in Washington on Sunday with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who held a high-level meeting with US officials just one week after the IDF approved operational plans for a military campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

The IDF and Hezbollah have engaged in cross-border violence since the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on October 7, and the international community is working to avoid a Third Lebanon War now that the IDF military campaign in Gaza is winding down.

Graham told the Post that he plans to submit a congressional resolution next week, holding Iran responsible if Hezbollah launches an all-out attack against Israel. It is feared that if Hezbollah did so, the Iron Dome system in the North would not be able to thwart all the missile launches.

“I will be introducing a resolution when I get back to the Senate next week...basically saying that a major attack against Israel launched by Hezbollah that could overwhelm Iron Dome or destroy the State of Israel would be considered an attack by Iran against Israel.

“I think it’s very important that we’re crystal clear to the world that if Hezbollah escalates and goes against Israel, the target [for retaliation] will not just be Beirut; it will be Tehran. I am telling my Senate colleagues that they should be thinking that way,” Graham said.
‘US will have difficulty defending Israel against Hezbollah’
The United States likely would not be able to help Israel defend itself against a broader war with Hezbollah in the way it did when Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at the Jewish state in April, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday.

Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown noted that it is harder to repel the shorter-range rockets from Lebanon, Associated Press reported.

An Israel-Hezbollah war also risks triggering a direct military response by Tehran, he added.

Iran “would be more inclined to support Hezbollah” than it is the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip, “particularly if they felt that Hezbollah was being significantly threatened,” Brown told reporters.

Brown said the Biden administration continues to urge Israel against widening the conflict in the north. Washington’s key message is “to think about the second order of effect of any type of operation into Lebanon, and how that might play out and how it impacts not just the region, but how it impacts our forces in regions as well,” he said.

The general stressed that the safety of U.S. forces remains a priority, noting that no U.S. bases have been attacked since February.

Hezbollah has attacked northern Israel nearly every day since joining the war in support of Gaza-based Hamas on Oct. 8, killing more than 20 people and causing widespread damage. Tens of thousands of Israeli civilians remain internally displaced due to the ongoing violence.

Since Oct. 8, Hezbollah has fired more than 5,000 rockets, anti-tank missiles and suicide drones at Israeli border communities.

Last week, the IDF authorized operational plans for a campaign aimed at pushing Hezbollah north of the Litani River, which was also the stated goal of 2006’s UNSC Resolution 1701.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 14 on Sunday that Israeli forces are being deployed to the northern border for defensive purposes “but also to bring all the residents of the north home.”

“If we can do it politically, that would be great,” he said of ongoing U.S.-brokered talks. “If not, we will do it in another way, but we will bring everyone back home—all the residents of the north and the south.”
'Lebanon doesn't want war': Online campaign targets Hezbollah
As Israel and Hezbollah exchange deadly blows at the border and threats of an imminent war are sounded daily, some activists and media personalities in Lebanon who oppose the Iranian-backed terrorists of Hezbollah have come out with a series of videos and online campaigns in what appears to be a last-ditch effort to turn public opinion in the Land of Cedars against the prospects of war with Israel.

One salient example of these efforts is the hashtag “Lebanon doesn’t want war,” which had almost 40,000 appearances over the last month alone, garnering roughly 100,000 engagements and a potential reach of almost 30 million users. The hashtag was also accompanied by a series of infographics and other hashtags, such as “Disarming Hezbollah is vital” and “Resolution 1701,” which were shared by a wide array of Lebanese activists on social media.

Some commentators directly addressed Hezbollah and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Nancy Nessrine Lakiss, a Lebanese journalist from Elsharq press, posted a picture showing a white dove with the slogan “We shout for peace, not for war,” adding: “Hezbollah published a video from its military media provoking Israel, so Israel decided to threaten us with bombing the airport. Please have mercy on us! How can you bear this much blood and death? Who will build Lebanon again? And if it is built, who will live in the houses after all this destruction and killing?”

In another viral post, Lakiss turned directly to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, demanding: “Mr. Nasrallah, you negotiate for the rights of the Palestinians, but have you forgotten their actions during our civil war, such as violating our women? Do you value the blood of the Lebanese in your decisions regarding the war? Justice must begin with our country first!

A Christian user named Chris shared a video showing the testimony of an elderly displaced lady who left her home in Southern Lebanon with her family, adding: “Do you want to liberate Jerusalem? You want to destroy Lebanon, displace its people, and kill them ... You are worse than the enemy ... You are the devil himself... Just let this people live … let these people raise their children in a country in peace and security!”

Another user taunted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah: “Lebanon has gone underground...in the image of Nasrallah. From a country that is friendly and open to countries around the world: American, European, Arab, Gulf, and others, a Lebanon towering above the cedars of the mountains – It is now ruled from underground!”


Reporters banned from entering cargo area in tour of Beirut airport aimed at disproving claims of weapons stockpiling
A tour of Beirut airport for journalists and ambassadors that Lebanon’s Hezbollah-affiliated transport minister said would prove that the terror group is not storing weapons on site is interrupted as reporters and cameramen are prevented from entering a cargo-handling area in the airport.

The tour had been arranged by Beirut’s Transport Ministry to disprove allegations published yesterday by The Telegraph that the Shiite terror group has stockpiled weapons coming from Iran at the airport, including ballistic missiles, unguided artillery rockets, and laser-guided anti-tank guided missiles, as well as a highly explosive and toxic white powder known as RDX.

In response to the allegations, Lebanon’s Hezbollah-affiliated Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh held a press conference at the airport yesterday, dismissing the “ridiculous” allegations. Hamieh invited journalists and ambassadors to take a tour of the airport’s facilities this morning, to prove that “there is nothing to hide,” Lebanese media quoted the minister as saying.

During today’s tour, dozens of journalists and ambassadors are accompanied through parts of the airport, but only the diplomats are allowed to enter one of the cargo-handling buildings due to “organizational issues,” while journalists are left to wait outside in the heat, according to the Saudi Al-Hadath news outlet.


Horrific new October 7 abduction footage released by hostage families
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Monday evening released a video of Hamas terrorists abducting three Israeli men, including a dual US citizen, from a bomb shelter near the Supernova music festival on October 7.

The video clip, which is about two minutes long, shows the abduction of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eliya Cohen and Or Levy from the area of Kibbutz Re’im near the Gaza border.

The disturbing footage, captured by Hamas bodycams, has been censored at the request of the families.

“Hersh, Eliya, and Or were taken alive, and they must return alive, today. Every day that passes puts the hostages at greater risk and diminishes our chances of bringing them back safely,” the Forum said.

The group represents the families of the hostages taken to Gaza during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught on the northwestern Negev.

One hundred and sixteen remain in Gaza out of the roughly 250 kidnapped on October 7.

Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old dual American-Israeli citizen, entered the bomb shelter on the morning of October 7 as the Hamas attack got underway, together with a close friend, Aner Shapira.

The latter was killed when terrorists converged on the tiny space, threw grenades in and sprayed the room with machine gunfire. Goldberg-Polin was taken hostage, his left arm blown off at the elbow.


'I've never seen him so scared': Hostage families react to Hamas kidnapping video
Relatives and other members of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum reacted after the forum published a video on Monday showing the moment Hamas terrorists kidnapped the hostages Eliya Cohen, Or Levy, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin on October 7.

Following the publishing of the video, Michael, brother of Or Levy, was quoted as saying on Kan news, "What can you say? Seeing him covered in his wife's blood, scared. I've known him since the age 0. I've never seen him so scared.”

Speaking with Ynet, Sigi Cohen, mother of hostage Eliya Cohen, referred to the video and stated:

"We decided to publish it to show the world what the hostages went through since the day of the kidnapping. We wanted to show the terrorists’ evil and how inhuman they are."

Jon Polin, the father of the hostage Hersch Goldberg-Polin, shared in an interview with Ynet, "I watched the video for the first time a week ago. It is crucial to show what they are going through and to remind the world that these are real people. We think about him and the other hostages 24/7, so if the video can wake up decision-makers here and abroad, we are in favor of it."

He added, "I heard Netanyahu's words, and I don't understand what he means by 'partial.' There are 120 hostages, and they all need to come home today." Politicians respond

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also responded to the video, saying:

"The horrifying kidnapping video of Hersch, Or, and Eliya breaks all our hearts and once again emphasizes the cruelty of the enemy we have sworn to eliminate. We will not stop the war until we bring all 120 of our loved ones home."

Following the release of the video, President Isaac Herzog shared a post on X (formerly Twitter), in which he wrote: In these terrible moments we see the true face of evil. The world must see this cruelty, cry out and demand the immediate release of our hostages, and take forceful steps to #BringThemHomeNow.”
Muhammad Alatrash, father of 13, killed on Oct 7 and taken to Gaza, IDF confirms
Warr. Ofc. Muhammad El Atrash from Mulada was killed on October 7 and his body was taken into Gaza, the IDF confirmed on Monday.

Atrash was a soldier in the Bedouin Trackers Unit in the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division.

According to N12, Alatrash was married to two women and a father to 13 children. For two months since the massacre on October 7 his relatives did not know what had happened to him. At the beginning of December, his family was informed that he was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. Until the evening, it was not disclosed that he was an IDF soldier.

After the announcement was made, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum released the following statement:

"The Hostages Families Forum bows its head in sorrow and with a heavy heart following the confirmation that Sergeant Major Mohammad Alatrash fell in battle on October 7th, and his body was subsequently abducted to Gaza by Hamas terrorists.

The Families Forum will continue to support and stand by the family during this difficult time and until his remains are returned to Israel."


Israeli stock-car racer gets NASCAR shot, with support for hostages on hood
When Israel’s premier stock car racer gets behind the wheel at a NASCAR competition in Chicago next month, his car’s hood will display an homage to the Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

A four-time EuroNASCAR champion, Alon Day plans to compete as part of the Alpha Prime Racing team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Chicago Street Race on July 6, a Saturday.

The Ashdod native will drive car number 45, a Chevy Camera sponsored in part by the Chicago-based Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) and Setna iO, located in the Windy City suburbs.

The car’s paint scheme, which Day recently released, features a blue-and-white wrap, with the word chai, Hebrew for “life,” written in Hebrew on the hood.

A “show car,” which Day will use for marketing and display purposes at promotional press conferences this week in Chicago, features an alternate hood design, with an Israeli flag inlaid in a Star of David and the phrase “Bring them home” underneath.

NASCAR does not allow religious symbols on hoods, which is why Day’s car on race day will have the chai reference rather than the Star of David.

“Alon represents the heart and spirit of the Israeli people, commitment to excellence, tremendous work ethic and ability to persevere in the face of enormous adversity,” said Neil Book, chairman and CEO of JSSI.



At least 15 dead in attacks on Dagestan synagogues, churches
More than 15 police officers, and several civilians, were killed by terrorists in southern Russia’s Republic of Dagestan on Sunday, authorities said early Monday.

Dagestan’s Interior Ministry confirmed that gunmen had opened fire at a synagogue and a church in the coastal city of Derbent. The state-run RIA Novosti outlet reported that both buildings caught fire, adding that the synagogue, one of the last in Dagestan, burned down.

At the Orthodox church, a priest was killed. Father Nikolai Kotelnikov reportedly had his throat slit before the church was set on fire.

Parallel to the attacks in Derbent, reports appeared about attacks on a church and a traffic police post in the capital, Makhachkala, as well as a shooting targeting a police vehicle in the town of Sergokala.

Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee described the incidents in the country’s predominantly Muslim region as terrorist acts, with authorities announcing the elimination of five or six terrorists.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shootings. State news agency Tass cited law enforcement sources as saying that a local official was arrested over his son’s alleged involvement in the attacks.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry referred to “a combined attack” in a statement. “As far as is known, there were no worshipers in the synagogues at the time of the attack, and there are no known casualties from the Jewish community,” the ministry said in a statement, according to CNN.
Ex-chief rabbi of Moscow blames Russian government neglect for Dagestan attack
The exiled former chief rabbi of Moscow has accused Russian authorities of leaving Jews and other citizens vulnerable to attacks like Sunday’s gun rampages by turning the state’s security apparatus on Kremlin critics instead of terrorist threats.

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt was speaking after gunmen killed 19 people in the mainly Muslim region of Dagestan in southern Russia in attacks on churches, synagogues and the police.

“The Russian authorities during the last years have used the law enforcement authorities to repress any kind of opposition to the Kremlin, opposition to the war and any movements like the LGBT movement which was declared as extremist. People are sent to prison for criticizing the war,” Goldschmidt said in a video interview from Berlin.

“So instead of using law enforcement and the interior ministry and FSB (security service) to provide security for Russian citizens, it’s being used to eradicate any opposition to the regime. And here we see the results, that such terrorists like ISIS are able to again and again mount successful attacks against houses of worship, against cultural events.”

Investigators have yet to establish who was behind Sunday’s attack but Islamic State has an established presence in Russia’s North Caucasus region, which includes Dagestan.

Simultaneous, coordinated strikes by gunmen who are prepared to die while conducting marauding attacks are a hallmark of the terror group, which claimed responsibility for a massacre of 145 people attending a concert near Moscow in March.

“The most probable perpetrator is Islamic State,” Riccardo Valle, an expert on the group, said of the latest attacks. “Islamic State has the means and capabilities, and it also has a foothold in the area,” he told Reuters.


Call Me Back PodCast: The ‘Day After’ Document – with Prof. Netta Barak-Corren
Hosted by Dan Senor
Is now the time for Israeli decision-makers to begin serious internal deliberations and planning for the “day after” in Gaza? According to Nadav Eyal in his column last Friday in Yediot, over 95% of Hamas rockets are gone, Hamas’s smuggling routes have been closed, and its munitions production capacity is zero. Is progress in defeating Hamas appears much better than one would think from reading popular press accounts?

It’s against that backdrop that we’ve learned of a 28-page document — this is not publica — and is circulating among Israeli military leaders and war strategy decision-makers within the government. Some we spoke to suggested that this document is being treated as the basis for ‘day after’ planning in the government. It’s called: “From a murderous regime to a moderate society: the transformation and rehabilitation of Gaza after Hamas”. The researchers are Prof. Danny Auerbach, a military historian; Prof. Neta Barak-Koran, a law professor who works on conflict resolution; Dr. Nati Palmer who works on intelligence about Hamas and Hezbollah; and Dr. Harel Horev, an expert on Palestinian society.

To help us understand these recommendations, we are joined today by one of its authors, Prof. Netta Barak-Corren, who is a legal scholar with degrees from the Hebrew University (where she is a professor). She clerked for the Chief Justice of the Israeli Supreme Court, and then pursued doctoral studies at Harvard, graduating in 2016. She currently is on leave from Hebrew University, while she’s visiting faculty at Princeton. She’s previously taught at University of Pennsylvania and University of Chicago.
IDF to be deployed to Lebanon border as Hezbollah exchanges escalate
Sky News host Caleb Bond says the Israeli Defence Force is going to be deployed to the border of Lebanon as the force escalates with Hezbollah.

“The IDF is now going to be deployed to the border of Lebanon,” he said.

“Where the exchanges between Israeli forces and Hezbollah have been escalating.”


Australians becoming 'increasingly upset' over protests
Liberal Senator Dave Sharma says Australians are becoming “increasingly upset” by the ongoing protests.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld was heckled by pro-Palestine protesters at his shows in Australia.

“I think there was polling over the weekend that shows that whilst Australians support people's right to peaceful protests in ways that do not disrupt the lives of fellow citizens, they’re becoming increasingly upset at the way that some of these protests are hijacking everyday activities,” Mr Sharma told Sky News Australia.

“Whether it’s university graduations, whether its goods coming into port, whether its people trying to do their weekend groceries.”


Sharri Markson urges Sydney University to ‘explain’ deal with pro-Palestine activists
Sky News host Sharri Markson has called for the University of Sydney to “come out publicly and clearly explain” whether it has done a deal with an extremist group.

The University of Sydney – in a deal with its Muslim Students Association – has committed to disclosing defence-related research publicly online.

It comes amid concerns the fringe protest encampment had been infiltrated by members of Hizb ut-Tahrir – an extreme Islamist group.






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